Into the Night
by e. marie armstrong
Summary: His face was dead serious. "I need you to trust me, and I need you to come with me right now." She took his hand. He pulled her onto his back and they leapt out the open window, away into the night. Bella/Carlisle. Rated M for content to come.
1. Chapter 1

A.N. This story takes place between New Moon and Eclipse. This is my first fanfic, so let me know how it is!

* * *

_She was flying. Her hair flew out behind her and the brisk air whipped by her face. Her arms were spread wide; she fanned out her fingers and felt them slice through the air as she soared. She looked down and saw the sprawling landscape of Forks below her. She smiled as she caught sight of her house. She felt a tightening around her waist and realized there was a pair of arms wrapped around her. Pale, ice-cold arms. Edward's arms. She wasn't flying; Edward was. He was just carrying her along. She twisted to look at him and was struck by his overwhelming beauty. He just looked back at her without a word, smiling serenely. She felt his arms begin to loosen. She grabbed at them, crying out for him to hold on to her tighter, but his arms kept pulling away. She felt herself slipping away from him; she looked up at him in panic and found him gazing back with the same unfaltering smile. He let go and she began to fall quickly. The ground was fast approaching. The houses that had seemed so miniature from above were getting larger and larger. She tried to scream but could not produce any sound. She was seconds from hitting the ground. This was it…_

"Bella."

She was jerked from her dream by the sound of her name and the gentle grip of a cold, hard hand on her arm.

"Edward," she murmured, rolling over to face him. "I was having the strangest dream."

She shivered; a cold sweat was covering her body. She knew her dream had been frightening, but the details slipped away as she tried to hold on to them like sand slipping through her fingers. She looked at Edward, but could only see his silhouette. He looked different.

"Bella," he said, and she noticed that his voice was different too. Anxious. Hesitant.

The realization hit her like a brick in the head. It wasn't Edward.

Before she could stand, run or scream, there was one ice-cold hand holding her still and another covering her mouth.

"Bella, I'm sorry for surprising you like this, but please don't scream," the voice wasn't Edward's, but it was familiar. She strained to look through the darkness of her bedroom, and realized that it was Carlisle Cullen standing in front of her, holding her still.

He released his grip from her waist and removed his hand from over her mouth.

"Carlisle… what are you doing here?" she was bewildered. She could not think of a single explanation as to why this man was standing in her room in the middle of the night.

"Do you trust me?" His face was dead serious. He had an expression that she couldn't quite place, but it made her uneasy.

"I… I…" Bella didn't know what to make of this. Something strange was going on. For Carlisle's face to have lost the comforting hint of a smile it always carried, it had to be something significant. But as she looked into his eyes, she somehow felt reassured. "Yes, I trust you."

"You need to come with me," he said, his voice lacking the melodic quality that she had always found so soothing. "Everything has changed."

"What? What are you talking about? What happened?" She stood up.

"Bella, I don't have time to explain. I need to you trust me, and I need you to come with me right now." He held out his hand.

A thousand questions were buzzing through her mind. Above all, she worried that something had happened to Edward. She felt her stomach drop at the thought. If Carlisle was this serious, it must be imperative for her to go with him, and quickly. She had every reason to trust him. She took a deep breath, and took his hand. He immediately pulled her onto his back and they leapt gracefully out the open window, away into the night.

She clung tightly to his chest as he ran, faster than she had ever moved before. She was briefly reminded of the sensation of flying she had experienced in her dream, but the feeling quickly passed. She wanted to ask him what was happening and where they were going, but refrained. She knew she would find out soon enough.

* * *

"Where are we?" Bella whispered. They had finally stopped running after what seemed like an eternity. She looked around and saw mountains.

"Canada," he replied, his voice somber.

"What?!" She was stunned. "Why?!"

He sighed. "We had to go far, far away. We need to go further still, but I feel that I owe you an explanation."

She stared at him. That was an understatement.

"I don't know exactly what happened," he said, sounding both hesitant and upset. "I was hunting by myself, far from Forks. I came home and… well, everyone was gone."

"What? What do you mean 'gone'?"

"There was a struggle. The house was destroyed."

"Who…?" Bella was at a loss of words. What had happened to Edward?

"I picked up a lot of different scents. They were overwhelmed by many powerful vampires."

Bella felt tears welling in her eyes.

Carlisle sighed. "It gets worse. I could only recognize one of the scents but… it was Victoria."

"Carlisle," she said slowly, "What did you mean when you said that they're 'gone'?"

"They weren't killed; I would have picked up on that," he said, as Bella breathed a sigh of relief. "But I believe they were taken. By Victoria, in addition to several very old and powerful vampires. I don't know where, and I don't know why, but I know that you're not safe in Forks."

He looked off into the distance, staring at something unseen. Sadness enveloped his face. She had never seen him look like this.

"Carlisle," she said, as she placed her hand on top of hers. "I'm so sorry."

"Why?" He asked, genuinely bewildered.

"This is all my fault. Your family has been taken because of _me._"

"This is not your fault at all, Bella," he said sharply. "I feel absolutely terrible that you've been dragged into it. I should be apologizing to you."

She thought of Edward, and pictured him helplessly chained in a basement while Victoria stood above him cackling hysterically. Her stomach dropped again. "What can we do?"

"We need to keep moving now," Carlisle said. "Her scent was outside your house. She's been staking you out for a while. I don't understand though; if killing you was her plan, why wait so long?"

The thought of Victoria perched outside her house, watching, listening, waiting – it was sickening.

He must have seen the look on her face.

"Bella, don't worry. I'm going to do everything I possibly can to find my family. And I promise you, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe." He took her hand.

She gently squeezed it. "Thank you. I trust you. I… I feel safe with you."

He smiled wearily. "We need to keep moving. We need to stay ahead of her, and make sure she doesn't catch our scent. Are you ready?"

She had barely uttered the word 'yes' before he had whisked her onto his back and they were running again.


	2. Chapter 2

She was restless.

Carlisle had brought them to a small cabin that was hidden away in the dense evergreens somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. She was exhausted, and though Carlisle had told her that she needed to sleep, she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to images of Edward in perilous danger.

They had traveled a great distance, and the days had blurred together in her mind. Many times throughout their journey, Carlisle had made them swim through rivers in attempt to confuse the scent trail, should anyone be following them. This left Bella in what seemed to be a state of permanent cold – even though she was in a warm and dry cabin now, she could not cease her teeth chattering and shivering.

Carlisle entered the cabin with some firewood and slammed the door behind him. He hadn't seemed like himself at all. Since they had left, he had seemed on edge and… well, _angry_. Bella had not thought him capable of anger, but she supposed the current situation warranted it.

"Are you… are you okay?" She asked him timidly.

"Why do you ask?" He sounded irritated.

"You seem angry," she said, regretting having brought it up in the first place.

He paused and looked at her. She couldn't quite determine the expression on his face. It seemed to be a strange combination of irritation, anger and sadness.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Bella. A lot has happened. I'm still processing the events, and I am very, very angry at…" he paused, "at… Victoria."

She looked at him quizzically, wondering why he paused.

He sat down on a chair across from her and took her hands. "I'm so sorry you got involved with this. Disrupting your life like this… it isn't right. But you must understand that it's for the best. You would not be safe at home. Your family and friends would not be safe."

"I know," she said. "I understand. Don't be sorry. I just want to help Edward. And the rest of your family."

She thought she saw a grimace flash across his face, but decided that she had just imagined it.

"Bella, you're shaking."

"I'm freezing."

He let go of her hands and stood up. She felt a strange yearning for him to hold them again, but she shook herself.

"Here, come warm yourself by the fire," he said, as he placed a few more logs inside the old wood stove.

She walked over to the fire and held her hands in front of it, feeling the warmth spread through her body. He stood beside her.

"What are we going to do?" she asked.

"We're going to keep running, and we're going to hope they don't find us," he said.

"And then, once we're sure they're lost our trail… then we're going to go back and save Edward and the rest of them, right?"

He was silent.

"Carlisle?" she asked nervously.

"Yes," he said suddenly, as if shaking himself out of a daze. "Yes, Bella. We will go back and save Edward."

* * *

_She was flying again. The landscape passed beneath her as she giggled happily. She held on tightly to the marble arms that were wrapped around her. The ground began growing more distant; she was rising higher into the air. She cried out for Edward to stop, for him to fly a little lower, because this height was terrifying. She turned to face him, to look into his beautiful golden eyes and plead with him. His face was still, locked in an expression of a patronizing smile. There was something different about him, but Bella couldn't place it. As she begged him to stop rising further into the air, she realized what was different about his face. Instead of his eyes being golden like she remembered, they were a deep, blood red. They stopped abruptly and paused mid-air, as if suspended by invisible strings. His face remained unchanged, still plastered with that same condescending smile. He let go of her and she began to fall._

She awoke with a piercing scream.

Carlisle was at her side in an instant. "Bella! What happened? Are you alright?"

She was drenched in a cold sweat, and her heart was pounding. It took her a moment to realize where she was.

"I'm fine," she said, sitting up and trying to regain her composure. "Bad dream. That's all."

She was sitting on a ratty couch, covered by a thin cotton sheet. The cabin had been abandoned many years ago, and did not have a bed. Carlisle had apologized profusely and promised to find better accommodations, but insisted that she get some rest before they continue the journey.

He smiled gently at her. "About Victoria?"

"No… not Victoria… it was about… Edward." She strained, trying to remember what had happened in her dream. It had been so vivid.

He looked at her curiously. "A nightmare about Edward? Was he being hurt?"

"No, we were flying," she said slowly, recalling more details about her dream as she thought about it. "We were flying higher and higher. His eyes were red. He just smiled at me, and then he let go of me. He let me fall. I just realized that I've had that same dream for the last couple of weeks. But it's just a dream."

She looked at Carlisle, and saw that his brow was furrowed.

"Carlisle?" she asked, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, replacing the look of contemplation with a strained smile. "You're right, it was just a dream; it's nothing to worry about."

"How long had we been gone?" she asked suddenly.

"Three days," Carlisle replied.

"Shit!" She said, scrambling to stand up. "I didn't leave a note, I didn't say anything to Charlie! He's going to be worried sick!"

She had been so caught up in the fear and anxiety of fleeing that she had completely forgotten about the fact that she had left Charlie without a word. He would have called her mother by now; he would have probably assumed that she had been kidnapped or murdered. No, he would have checked with the Cullens and found them to be gone, and assumed they were involved. God, he must be furious. She felt sick. How could she not have thought about this earlier?

"What can do?" she said miserably.

"You could write him a letter," Carlisle suggested.

"Saying what? Sorry Dad, but I had to leave home because a crazed vampire has kidnapped my boyfriend and his family, and now she's after me… I probably won't see you for awhile but it's okay because Edward's vampire surrogate father is protecting me!"

Carlisle smiled wryly. "Well that would be one way to do it… but no, I meant something more along the lines of an excuse that's not necessarily the truth."

"Like what?" she said sadly. "What would possibly explain me suddenly leaving without a word, and being gone indefinitely?"

He paused for a moment in thought. "Tell him… tell him that you and Edward have eloped. It's not pleasant, and it will definitely hurt him, but at least it's believable."

She thought about it. She imagined Charlie receiving a letter in the mail, saying that his daughter who had suddenly disappeared without a word had done so because she had run away to get married with a boy. It would completely devastate him. And her mother. They would think she was so stupid, and careless, and inconsiderate. But it was the best idea she had. No word whatsoever would be considerably worse; they would never stop searching for her. They would be angry, but at least they would have some sort of closure. And then maybe one day she would be able to return and explain the whole story to them.

"Do you have a pen and paper?" she asked Carlisle.

Using his superior vampire senses, he located a piece of paper and an old ballpoint pen in the kitchen.

"Thank you," she said, taking the writing materials and sitting at the table to being her heartbreaking letter.

_Dear Charlie,_

_I'm so sorry…_

* * *

Carlisle insisted she come with him when he traveled to mail the letter. He didn't want to leave her alone in the cabin, even though he would only be gone a few hours. She quite enjoyed traveling on Carlisle's back; it was different than traveling on Edward's. Carlisle ran much more softly, and it seemed he was much more aware and concerned with her comfort. She actually enjoyed keeping her eyes open and watching the scenery fly by. And she strangely enjoyed the feeling of his skin against hers; several times she had to stop herself from pressing her face against his neck.

It was noon when they reached a small town somewhere near Colorado. The sky was cloudy, so Carlisle was able to comfortably walk through the town without being noticed. Bella solemnly dropped her letter off at the post office to mail, wondering for the fiftieth time if it was the right thing to do.

Carlisle squeezed her hand. "It's the best way," he said, as if reading her mind.

They walked through the town in search of clothes and food; Carlisle had said that they needed to stock up before they continued further. Bella was surprised at how much she enjoyed walking through the town with him. It was easy and comfortable. Though both of them were preoccupied with worries and fears, they somehow fell into comfortable conversation. He bought her some new clothes, a warm coat, backpack, and blankets. She wasn't comfortable with him spending money on her, but he insisted that it made no difference to him. Besides, she needed warm clothes to wear, since they were heading north.

He bought himself a new shirt, since his old one was shredded and splattered with blood.

"Carlisle," Bella said as they headed out of the clothing store. "Why did your shirt have blood on it? You said you came to your house after everyone was gone."

"Oh," he said, "I went hunting. It was deer blood."

"When did you go hunting?" she asked curiously. She couldn't remember a time when had been away from her for more than five minutes. And she vaguely remembered him telling her he didn't want to go hunting because he didn't want to leave her unprotected.

"I…" He was hesitant. "Before I came to your house to get you. I was hungry. I found a deer along the way."

She looked at him questioningly. That didn't make sense. He had come to her house in the middle of the night because the situation had been urgent. Would he really have had time to snack on a deer along the way?

"Bella," he said quickly, before she could question him more, "we need to get going."

"Okay…" she said, not convinced of his honesty, and wondering why he would lie to her.

They had reached the edge of the town. "Are you ready?" he asked.

She sighed. She didn't know why, but she trusted him.

"Yes," she said, and they were off.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**: First of all, thank you so much for all the feedback! I'm glad you're enjoying my story – I really had no idea how it would go over. Secondly – I apologize for taking so long to update… I've been in the middle of exams and have not had much free time, but I'm almost done and should be updating more quickly!

* * *

There was a crisp wind blowing as Bella walked through the woods. She shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around her.

Carlisle had finally given into his hunger; he had gone to feed on some deer that were close by. He assured her that she would be within earshot at all times, and it would take only a moment to get back to her side. She told him she didn't mind – she knew he would have to eat sooner or later – but in reality she felt worried the second he stepped out of sight. She convinced herself, however, that this worry was simply due to her anxiety about Victoria; she was already anxious and on edge from worrying about Edward.

It had been almost a week since she had left home. Despite the disruption of her life, the constant fear that Edward was in mortal peril and the fact that her parents must be worried sick, Bella felt oddly safe. She somehow knew that Carlisle would protect her, and she knew that he was doing the best he could to help find Edward. She wished that they could do more, though. She knew that they had to keep moving to keep Victoria from finding them, but it so hard to know that Edward was in danger and to not be able to do anything about it. She was constantly on edge; antsy to do _something_; anything but sit around. So when Carlisle left to go hunting, she grabbed her jacket and stepped outside for a walk.

The sun hung low in the sky, casting an orange glow on the trees. It was gorgeous. Bella had walked to the edge of a cliff that overlooked a shimmering mountain lake. At that moment, all her worries were pushed to the back of her mind as she took in the beautiful view in front of her. She realized that she'd been standing there for quite some time – the sun had almost set and the path would be impossible to navigate back through in the dark.

She turned and quickly started heading down the hill he had climbed up, and almost immediately tripped over a root and went tumbling over face-first. She scraped her face on something sharp along the way down and scrambled to stick her hands out in front of her before she hit the ground. Her left hand didn't quite make it to the right position, and hit the ground at an odd angle with a sickening crack. She cried out in pain.

Within seconds, Carlisle was beside her. It seemed as though he had materialized out of thin air.

"Bella!" he said, a note of panic in his voice, "what happened? Are you alright?"

She sat up and gingerly bent her wrist. Hot pain shot up her arm.

"I tripped and fell. I hurt my wrist."

He bent down beside her. "It's definitely broken,"

"How can you tell?" she asked. He had been looking at her face since he appeared; he hadn't even cast a glance to her wrist.

"I heard the bone crack," he said. "I'll carry you back to the cabin… I'll examine it there and we'll see what we can do."

She laughed. "It's my wrist that's broken, not my legs. I can walk just fine." She used her other hand to push herself up.

"Apparently you can't," he said, chuckling. "Tripping and breaking your wrist isn't really indicative of being able to 'walk just fine'".

She sighed, starting to walk in the direction of the cabin, carefully holding her broken wrist with her good hand. "Well, I'll try to be more careful from now on."

"Bella?" Carlisle said from behind her, humour in his voice.

"Yeah?" She replied. It was now almost fully dark and she couldn't see more that his silhouette.

"The cabin is the other way."

"Ahh!" she cried out in frustration.

"If you won't let me carry you, at least allow me to guide you in the right direction," he said, holding back laughter.

"Fine," she grumbled. She walked back towards him.

He placed an arm around her waist and steered her to the path.

They walked back to the cabin in silence. Carlisle didn't remove her hand from around Bella's waist; in fact, he pulled her more tightly against him. She found that she didn't mind at all. She actually very much enjoyed being close to him. It was not just that he made her feel safe – she felt a warm fluttering in her stomach as soon he touched her. She wondered what he was thinking.

The forest was pitch black and she couldn't see that he was softly smiling.

* * *

When they reached the cabin, Carlisle led her to the couch.

They had traveled further along the Rocky Mountains, but Bella did not know exactly where they were. Carlisle seemed to have a knack for finding small abandoned cabins that were nestled amount the forested mountain. This was one significantly nicer that the last one they'd stayed in - it was in much better condition, the furniture was not falling apart, and there was actually a bed.

"How does your wrist feel?" Carlisle asked, sitting beside her.

"Hurts when I move it," she said, "but it's not something new… I've broken a few bones before."

"A few?" he said, laughing. "I've seen your medical record."

"Alright," she grumbled, "more than a few."

She held her wrist up so he could examine it. She took in a deep breath, determined not to cry out in pain. He took her arm in his hand. Despite the fact that his fingers were ice-cold, she felt a warm spread through her body. Her stomach fluttered when she looked up and saw his face only inches away from hers.

"Hmm," he muttered as he studied her wrist. "I don't have the materials for a cast, but I can splint it with some cardboard and tape. It will be crude, but it will have to do until we get into a town."

He gently set her wrist down on a pillow and was in the kitchen in a flash, rummaging through drawers in search of the materials he needed. He apparently found them quite quickly, and was kneeling in front of her only seconds later.

"This may hurt for a second," he said, taking her wrist gently into his hands again. Before Bella could comprehend the discomfort, he was done. The materials were crude, but the splint was perfect. He ripped a strip of material from a shirt he had gathered and fashioned her a sling.

"Thank you," she said dazedly, finding it hard to believe how fast he had just fixed her up. "You did that incredibly fast."

"Well, I am a trained doctor," he said, smiling. "I've had quite a bit of practice."

She laughed. "Yeah, that and the vampire super speed."

He shrugged, chuckling. He looked at her, and suddenly his smile turned into a frown.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Your face is bleeding," he said.

"Oh, yeah," she said, "I scraped it when I fell."

In a flash he was off to the kitchen again, and in the next moment back beside her with a wet cloth.

"Your face is cut," he explained as she looked at him questioningly. "We need to get the dirt out so it doesn't get infected."

He reached up and gently brushed back the hair that had fallen in front of her face. His eyes were focused on her intently, and she didn't know where to look. His face was just so… perfect. He looked like he had been carved out of ivory, his skin so pale and smooth and flawless. She breathed in quickly when he touched her skin. It was like an electric shock, and the tingling spread from her face to her extremities.

She closed her eyes. Carlisle carefully began wiping the dirt from her face. After a moment, she felt his hands stop moving. She opened her eyes and found him staring at her. She smiled softly and was delighted when he smiled genuinely in return.

He sighed and pulled his hand away. She turned away awkwardly. Carlisle pulling away made her embarrassed to have shared such a strangely intimate moment with him.

"Bella," he said, turning back to her. There was a strange look on his face that she couldn't quite place – she had a very difficult time reading this man. He looked almost anguished. "There's something I need to tell you…"

He stood up. He sighed. He was visibly distraught.

"You need to keep in mind the fact that I have always had your best interests at heart. Everything I've done, I've done to keep you safe."

"Carlisle, what are you talking about?" She asked nervously.

"Bella, I haven't been completely honest with you…"


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you mean?" Bella asked, her brow furrowing in nervous anticipation.

Carlisle stopped pacing and sighed. "I lied about the reason I took you away."

She stared at him blankly.

"Victoria isn't after you," he said, sounding miserable.

Bella stood up. Her eyes were wide with shock and anger.

"Wait," he said, gesturing for her to sit back down. "I'm not done. You still are in danger. I just didn't feel it… appropriate… to tell you the extent."

"Carlisle, you have five seconds to tell me what's going on," she said, growling impatiently.

"Alright," he said. "I'm getting to it. Last week, my family and I were approached by the Volturi. They wanted us to join them – Alice and Edward especially, for their gifts. I was angry; I had already refused a life with them, and they knew that my family and I lived in a different way. I didn't want to hear any more of what they had to say, so I left. I went hunting to blow off some steam, and Alice and Jasper joined me. I supposed the rest of them were intrigued by the Volturi, and at least wanted to hear what they had to say. When we came back, they were all gone, except Aro and his guards. He told us that the rest of our family had willingly gone with them – they had chosen to join the Volturi. I didn't believe him until Alice confirmed it. She looked so incredibly pained by her vision, I knew it was true.

"We didn't understand how this could possibly happen. Esme, my wife and true love, always so caring and compassionate – why would she ever chose that life? And Edward – why would he ever choose to leave you, with a love so intense? And Emmett and Rosalie… It made no sense! Aro told me it was too late; Jasper, Alice and I had missed our opportunity and wouldn't even get the chance to hear what the rest had been offered. Our own family had chosen to leave us, to leave our life, and he wouldn't even tell us why. It was maddening! And then Aro looked at me and laughed. I don't know what happened – it was as if all my sadness turned into anger at that instant. You know me, and you know that I never lose control of my emotions, and I never get angry. But I was so infuriated at him for taking my family from me… I jumped at him and attacked.

"It didn't last long – both his guards were on me in seconds – but I got a hit. That was the source of the blood on my shirt. But I didn't feel better as I had anticipated; I merely felt disappointed that I had allowed my anger to take control of me. Aro wasn't hurt badly, and as I was pulled away from him he laughed again. He laughed all the way out the house, and his guards followed."

Bella's face hadn't changed for the duration of his story. She continued to look straight at him with a blank, stunned stare.

He sighed. "Alice and Jasper were just as upset as I was. Alice was looking into her visions for some guidance, but was having a difficult time seeing what was going to happen. Finally, she saw something. She held back and didn't describe everything she had seen, but it was enough. The Volturi were coming back, soon, and they were coming to kill us.

"She also saw…" he paused, and looked away from Bella, his brow furrowing. "She saw that they would come back to kill you. I suppose it's because you're a liability to them – knowing about the existence of vampires, and knowing exactly where they are located – you possess information that could harm them. Alice, Jasper and I decided the best course of action would be to split up and run, and hope to God that they don't find us. We decided that one of us should take you away from the danger, since it is out fault that you are in this position in the first place."

He looked back at her, but her face remained unchanged.

"Bella," he said, sighing again. "I'm sorry. I didn't tell you the real reason we were running because it would destroy you to know that Edward had… abandoned you. I made up the story about Victoria so that you would be afraid and come with me, away from the real danger, but also so you would have hope and a reason to keep going. I am truly very sorry that I deceived you, but I felt that it was the only way that you would come with me."

He stopped speaking and stared at her face, waiting for some response.

"What are you thinking?" he asked gently.

She blinked and tears began to silently spill down her face. She looked away. She didn't know what to think. Her entire world had crumbled in the last ten minutes. Apparently Edward was not who she thought he was. But apparently neither was Carlisle. She was angry, she was hurt, and she was heartbroken.

She swallowed. "I need to be alone."

"Of course," Carlisle said gently. "Take as much time as you need."

She stood up and slowly walked into the tiny cottage bedroom.

She lay on the bed in silence for hours, her eyes open but staring at nothing in particular. Many thoughts were spinning around in her head, but one kept coming back. Edward had left her to join the Volturi. She didn't know what exactly he had been offered, but that didn't matter. He had willingly chosen to abandon her for a completely different life. A life of power, privilege and feeding on humans. A part of her supposed she shouldn't be so quick to jump to judgments when she didn't know the whole story, but her anger quickly overrode these thoughts and she kept coming back to one thought that if he truly loved her like he claimed, no offer would be great enough to cause him to willingly abandon her. She concluded with many tears that he must not love her as she loved him.

She had been through this before, but in the end it had turned out that Edward had only left because he cared about her. Could that be the case now? She decided it couldn't be; in no situation could abandoning her for the Volturi be because he cared about her. She began to think that maybe Edward hadn't been honest with her about his intentions with other aspects of their relationship. Angry tears slid down her cheeks. How could he do this to her? Was their whole relationship built on a lie?

More time passed; she didn't know how much. Eventually she sat up on the edge of the bed and wiped her face off. Her eyes were raw and her head was pounding from crying. She decided that she wasn't going to mope; it wouldn't accomplish anything. Edward had done what he had done, and there was nothing she could do about it. Right now she had to focus on staying away from the Volturi – a task much more difficult than evading Victoria.

She thought of Carlisle and sighed. She was still angry with him for lying to her, but she could understand why he did it. She was thankful that he had cared enough to take her with him, and that he cared enough to try and protect her from the truth, even though she was still a upset about it.

She realized that she had been so focused on herself that she hadn't thought about what Carlisle was going through. She thought that it must be a thousand times worse for him – not just one, but four people that he cared about had left him. He had every right to be bitter and angry, but was not. He was just focused on keeping them – keeping _her_ – safe.

She stood and looked at her reflection in the small mirror on the bedroom wall. Her eyes were puffy from crying and her hair was completely disheveled. She frowned at her reflection, wiped her face again and ran her fingers through her hair. She opened the door and entered the main room of the cottage.

Carlisle was standing and looking at her when she entered. He had a concerned look on his face. She smiled wearily.

She was about to speak but hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"Are you angry with me?" he asked softly.

"I don't know," she said. "Yes and no. I wish you hadn't lied to me, but I understand why you did."

"Would you have come with me if I had told you the truth?"

"I honestly don't know," she said. "I would have been upset. I wouldn't have believed you. I would have wanted to track him down."

"But you believe me now?"

"Yes," she said simply. "I don't want to – I don't want it to be true – but I believe you."

"I was worried about you," he said. "You were in that room for eight hours. I could barely hear you breathing."

"Sorry," she said, looking down at the ground.

He laughed weakly. "Don't apologize. It's my fault."

"It's not your fault," she said. "We're both in a horrible situation. We've both been betrayed by people we love, and we both need to keep running so we don't get killed."

"Bella," he said, walking to her and taking both her hands in his. "We'll get through this. Somehow."

She looked into his eyes and felt tears threatening to spill again, but she held them back.

"How? What are we going to do? We can't run forever."

"They'll give up eventually," he said, more to himself than to her. "They have to."

"No, they don't," she said bitterly. "They have all the time in the world."

"I promise you Bella, I will get you out of this." Though she had every reason to doubt him, she felt assured by his words and comforted by his cool hands on hers. "Right now, you need to eat, and you need to get some rest."

He let go of her hands, much to her displeasure. He went into the kitchen and speedily fixed her up a sandwich with supplies they had picked up the last time they were in a town. She ate it quickly, not realizing how hungry she had been.

"Thanks," she said when she was done. "Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for bringing me with you and keeping me safe."

He smiled. "My pleasure."

He led her back into the small bedroom and waited while she got under the covers.

"Carlisle?" she said hesitantly as he started to leave.

"Yes?" he said, turning back to her.

"Will you stay here while I fall asleep? I don't want to be alone anymore."

"Of course," he said, smiling softly, sitting on the bed beside her.

He held her hand as she fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Bella awoke with a jump. She was covered in a cold sweat and her heart was racing.

Carlisle was sitting in a chair across the room, looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay?" he asked, setting down a book and leaning towards her.

"Nightmare," she said, trying to slow down her breathing and her heart. She was surprised that he was still in the room. She felt a little embarrassed for having asked him to stay with her until she fell asleep the night before. She assumed that he had stayed the whole night out of pity.

He raised his eyebrows. "You've been having nightmares a lot recently, haven't you?"

She nodded, remembering the horrific feeling of falling quickly and uncontrollably towards the ground. "Always the same dream."

"The one where you're flying with Edward, and he drops you?"

She was briefly surprised that he remembered her description of her dream; it had been a couple of days ago that she had told him. She nodded.

"Interesting…" he said, looking away, his mouth twisting into an odd expression.

"What is it?" she asked curiously.

He looked back at her. "It almost seems as if your dreams represent an insecurity in your relationship with Edward," – she cringed as he spoke the name – "You're worried about him 'dropping' you emotionally, so to speak… and this worry manifests itself as a dream in which he drops your physically. The most interesting part is that these dreams began before you knew that he betrayed you. It's as if that feeling, that insecurity, was there all along. Just a thought."

She thought about it. She supposed he could be right. She had felt placated since Edward had returned after leaving her the first time, content with the explanation that he left only because he truly cared about her and wanted her to be happy. But she supposed some part of her subconscious had been aware that it could happen again, and tried to warn her through the dreams.

Too bad she didn't pay attention to them. Not that that would have made the pain any less.

"Come, let's get you some breakfast," Carlisle said hastily, concerned with the Bella's expression.

She followed him into the kitchen, putting her thoughts on hold, and ate a delicious meal of eggs and bacon.

They traveled East across northern Canada. Bella lost track of the amount of time that had passed. They stayed in cottages and abandoned houses that they found along they way, and Carlisle made sure that the accommodations were comfortable for her. Her broken wrist was healing quickly, and though she had no need for the makeshift brace, Carlisle insisted that she continue to wear a sling and "take it easy". Not that any activities required any sort of physical exertion; she always traveled long distances and difficult terrains on Carlisle's back.

She was still devastated about Edward, but she felt at ease in the company of Carlisle and his presence took her mind off her other worries. She was concerned about the cost to him however – she worried that she was slowing him down, and that he was growing bored of her company. She was a clumsy, fragile, and boring human after all. It was a sunny afternoon when she brought up the topic.

"Carlisle," she said hesitantly.

"Yes, Bella?" they were outside; he was gathering firewood for the night. It was amazing to watch him as he worked – he would take down a tree with nothing but his two hands and split the wood into small pieces with his fingers, looking like he was barely exerting any force.

"I was just wondering…" she had been thinking for awhile about how to phrase what she wanted to say, and was still unsure. "Do you regret taking me with you?"

Carlisle immediately stopped what he was doing, setting the half-split log on the ground and turning to face Bella. He looked confused.

"Why would you ever think that?"

"I just know that I slow you down," she mumbled. "And that puts you at a greater risk of being found. And it's such an inconvenience for you to have to get food for me – "

He cut her off with a raised hand, signaling to her to stop.

"Bella, please don't doubt for a second that I want you with me. I suppose we're traveling a bit slower than I would by myself, but I would never regret for a moment taking you with me and protecting you. It is really no inconvenience at all. Your company gives me much pleasure."

Bella blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks,"

He smiled. "I'm quite glad you're with me, Bella."

"I'm glad I'm not an inconvenience," she said, not completely through with what she wanted to say. She took a deep breath. "But I had an idea."

Carlisle raised his eyebrows and looked at her with a perplexed smile.

"I'm still slowing you down. You can't argue that. We'd be able to travel much more quickly and efficiently… if I were a vampire."

"Absolutely not," he said immediately, his smile gone.

"Why not?" she asked. "Think about how fast we would be able to run. We wouldn't need to stop so I could sleep, we wouldn't need accommodations and food for me…"

"No," he cut her off. "No. That is not an option."

"Why not?" she asked again seriously.

"Bella, first of all, you will not become a vampire for the purpose of making things more convenient for me. I refuse to turn you under those conditions; I find that morally wrong. I would only turn you if you had no other choice – if you would die any other way. A human life – especially one with as much promise and opportunity as yours – is simply too much to give up if there is any other option. Secondly, you have no concept of what a newborn vampire is like. They are driven by nothing but their hunger and their instincts. You wouldn't be able to control yourself; it would be much more inconvenient for me to be with a newborn vampire, constantly hunting whatever living thing we came across, than it is to be with a human. You would be a threat to all humans, and there would be nothing you could do about it."

Bella sighed, dejected. "Fine. It was just a thought."

Carlisle smiled again, and in an instant he was sitting beside her on the steps of the back deck of the house. "I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing, Bella. But I assure that you we are fine. We will not be found."

"How are _you _doing, Carlisle?" Bella asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled.

"You've been so concerned about me, and how I feel… I realized that I haven't asked how you feel about this whole… situation."

He stared into the distance, unblinking.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "You don't have to talk about it. I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's alright," he said quietly, still staring at something far away. "I've had a while to contemplate, but I'm still not sure how I feel about this. While I'm upset with my… family… for leaving, I'm still scared for them. And while it seems unlikely, I hope there is some other explanation. My Esme… I just can't believe…"

He paused and took an unneeded breath of air.

"I'm angry with myself. This situation has brought out emotions in me that I didn't think possible. I've never been one for anger or violence, but some of the thoughts I've been having… well, I've disappointed myself."

Bella stared thoughtfully at the man she had always looked up to. Of course this didn't change anything; he was still perfect in her eyes. She doubted anyone else in the same situation could have handled it better than Carlisle.

"I wonder how Alice and Jasper are doing," she murmured. "I wish we could have all stayed together."

"Me too," he sighed. "Alice is a greater threat to the Volturi, so they will be going after her first. She saw this; that's why she wanted to split up. I'm confident that she will be able to evade them, however."

The sun was setting; night was quickly approaching.

"Where are going tomorrow?" Bella asked. "And… where exactly are we now?"

Carlisle chuckled. "We're in northern Nunavut," he said. "I was thinking that tomorrow we should start heading south. It's probably better to travel through cities anyway; it will confuse the scent more. And I was thinking of acquiring a car."

Bella groaned. "Not you too. You Cullens have your _morals _applying to hunting, but grand theft auto is perfectly reasonable?"

"You would equate stealing a car with taking a human life?" He was smiling.

"It's questionable. Not to mention very illegal," she grumbled. "I would have thought you'd have a problem it."

His smile widened. "Did I ever say that I was going to steal a car, Bella? Funny how you jump to conclusions. You've been spending too much time with Alice. When I said 'acquire', I meant 'legally purchase' – I have money, and we have time."

"Sorry," she said, grinning. "You know, this is kind of exciting. Until I went to Italy with Alice, I had never traveled _anywhere. _It's going to be nice to see some other parts of the country. And Canada."

"I'm glad something good can come of this," he said. "Most likely, we'll eventually head to South America, then to Africa."

Bella's eyes widened in excitement, and Carlisle smiled in response; he had lived so long that traveling was no longer a source of excitement. He found that her excitement made him happy.

Carlisle stood up when Bella yawned. "You should get some sleep," he said.

She nodded and started heading inside.

The dreams of falling had ended long ago, but the nightmares were still there. Now, she would dream of figures in black cloaks chasing her as she ran away, stumbling and tripping over her own feet. She could never run fast enough. Eventually she would be caught by an icy hand; when the figure's hood fell down, Edward's piercing eyes would glare back at her.

She stopped and shuddered, thinking about the dreams that were sure to come.

Carlisle noticed. He hated hearing her piercing screams in the middle of the night; he hated seeing her terrified, and not being able to do anything to take away the fear. In the daytime, she suppressed her fears and anxieties, and he theorized that this was why she had such horrifying nightmares at night. When she was sleeping, she could not escape her subconscious. She could not ignore her fears.

He walked into the bedroom with her. He wondered if she found it strange and uncomfortable to sleep in a different room, in a stranger's bed every night. She told him it was fine, but he had a feeling that she wouldn't tell him if she was unhappy for fear of inconveniencing him.

She settled into the bed, and Carlisle settled himself into a chair across the room and picked up a book.

"You're staying here tonight?" She said, surprised.

He smiled. "I'm just going to be reading, I figured I may as well read in here. I'll keep an eye on you… if that's alright?"

"Oh, that's perfect," she said, almost too eagerly. She always slept better when he was present; she could go to sleep knowing she would be perfectly safe. "Goodnight, Carlisle."

She fell asleep before he could softly say "Goodnight, Bella".


	6. Chapter 6

_She should have been afraid – a deadly vampire poised on top of you would have most people screaming in terror – but fear was the last thing on her mind. Mind you, he wasn't on top of her for the purpose of causing pain; in fact, it was the exact opposite. Carlisle moved his hand to her face. His skin was ice-cold, but she didn't mind in the least. His hand cupped her chin; his thumb swept over her warm cheek and then sensually traced the outline of her lips. She gently sighed. He took that as encouragement and smiled again, this time almost mischievously. He moved his hand down her body, gently trailing it along her side all the way down to her hip. He pushed her shirt up and began to caress the soft skin of her lower stomach. His cool fingers on her bare skin sent delightful shivers through her whole body, and she moaned softy in response. He leaned down and placed a trail of soft kisses leading down her stomach. She thought for a moment that any sane person would be horrified to have a vampire's teeth so close to their flesh, then decided that she must not be sane – she was enjoying this far too much. She heard a rip and looked down to discover that he had ripped her jeans open – with his teeth. Her heart sped up in excitement. He grinned up at her from between her legs. He bent down, disappearing from view, and she gasped in surprised pleasure. _

"Bella?" He was shaking her. "Bella, wake up!"

She opened her eyes immediately to find Carlisle standing over her, worry clouding his face. Once again, she had awoken with a pounding heart and a thin cover of sweat.

"It was just a nightmare. It's alright now."

Blood rushed to her face as she remembered her dream. Her dream about Carlisle, the concerned man standing in front of her. Her _sex _dream about Carlisle.

"It wasn't a nightmare," she mumbled, completely mortified.

"You were writhing around, heart racing, screaming…" he looked puzzled.

Bella's face turned even brighter crimson. He had been in the room all night.

"Oh," he said, his eyes widening in sudden understanding.

She didn't think she had ever been so embarrassed in her life. Her face felt like it was on fire. What kind of sounds had she made?

"Er, don't worry," he said awkwardly, unsuccessfully trying to suppress an awkward grin, "it happens to everyone. I'll… uhh… make you some breakfast." He was out of the room in a flash.

The instant he was out of the room, she groaned and fell back into the bed, pulling a pillow over her beet-red face. At least Carlisle didn't know that the dream had been about him; Bella was incredibly grateful at this moment that he couldn't read minds like his son.

* * *

After a rushed breakfast, Bella packed up her things and put on her backpack. She started heading for the door, when she saw Carlisle waiting with his arms out expectantly.

Her mind immediately jumped to the image from her dream of him on top of her, those perfect hands sliding over the bare skin of her hips and resting on the waist of her jeans…

"Well?" he said. She realized she had been staring, unmoving, mouth slightly open.

She shook herself, willing herself not to blush. She suddenly understood that his arms were out because he was waiting to help her onto his back. She was going to be pressed tightly against his body while he moved beneath her… her face would be beside his neck, lips brushing against his ivory skin…

"I thought we were going to drive," she blurted out, figuring that less contact between them would be better, considering her current state of mind. She tried to shake all sexy images of Carlisle from her mind. It was incredibly difficult.

He raised his eyebrows and smirked slightly. "We still are... once we get down the cliff face. I very much doubt that any vehicle could travel over that, not to mention that fact that we are not currently in possession of a vehicle. The closest town is many miles away. So for now, we will travel by foot. Well, _I_ will be traveling by foot; you will be getting a nice ride."

Bella suppressed a grimace at his choice of words. She hated the fact that her dream had been making everything seem sexual. She didn't understand where this had come from. She had never thought of Carlisle in that way before, and she felt a combination of guilt and embarrassment for doing so. The man was just so damn pure – not the type of person who should star in sexual fantasies. Besides, she had so many other things to worry about; now was hardly the time for fantasizing.

"What's the matter, Bella?" he asked curiously. "You've seemed… off… all day."

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Let's go."

She walked over to him and took his hand, allowing herself to be pulled on to his back. The whole movement was incredibly fast, and she gasped at the immediate closeness of her face to his bare skin.

_Keep it together, _she told her herself, _now is not the time._

As Carlisle began to run, Bella closed her eyes to distract herself from inappropriate thoughts. But if now is not the time, did that mean that there would be an appropriate time later?

After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a few minutes), Carlisle stopped at the outskirts of a small town. Bella jumped off his back before he could slowly lower her, and of course fumbled the landing and fell backwards onto the ground.

"Eager to get going, are we?" Carlisle said with a grin as she picked herself up, wiping dirt from the backside of her jeans.

"I'm just looking forward to a method of transportation that doesn't require me holding on for dear life," she lied.

They walked into the town, and as always, all eyes were on them.

"I wonder how people suppose we're related," Bella remarked.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked.

"I mean, do they think we're father and daughter?"

He laughed. "No, there's not a big enough age difference. Brother and sister perhaps?"

She snorted. "I'm not nearly good-looking enough to be related to you. Kidnapper and kidnapping victim?"

He laughed again. "No, I think the logical assumption would be that we're a couple."

Bella chuckled nervously, hoping he wouldn't look at her and see her flushed face. "Never. Why would anyone think that we were… together? Look at you. Look at me."

"I don't understand your point," he said, looking at her curiously.

"Well, you're incredibly perfect-looking," she said uncomfortably. This was an awkward conversation, especially considering the prior events of the day. "And I'm… well, I'm not even close."

He shook his head, smiling. "Bella, I don't think you understand that you are quite beautiful," he had a strange expression. Could it be embarrassment? No… there was no way...

"Erm, thanks," she said awkwardly. She was almost positive that he was only saying that make her feel better, but the compliment still made her uncomfortable.

They had reached an old used-car lot. Carlisle quickly scanned the lot, and apparently found a satisfactory car. While Bella wandered and looked at cars she didn't know the names of, he found the dealer and bought the car with a thick wad of cash. He pulled up beside her with a loud squeal and smoothly opened the passenger door from the inside.

She nervously got in. "You're not a crazy driver like the rest of your family, are you?"

He grinned. "Bella, I'm a vampire. What's 'crazy' to you is merely efficient."

He wasn't reckless; she could give him that. But she felt like he was pushing the old car to its absolute limits, and that frightened her a little at first. After a couple of minutes though, she realized that the car was not going to spontaneously combust and they were not going to crash. She was confident that Carlisle would keep her safe.

She settled into a comfortable position in the leather seat and looked out the window, thankful that she finally had a distraction.


End file.
